The past, present and future of accounting: A review essay of Accounting, organizations and society: The inside and outside of accounting by Sadao Takatera

Abstract

This review demonstrates that the main contribution of a leading Japanese accounting scholar — Takatera —lies in the synthesis of a descriptive examination of the past of accounting in conjunction with a normative study of accounting of the future. Employing social and organizational perspectives, Takatera advances a framework in which the calculation structure and power of accounting are essential. The framework encompasses both internal and external accounting as integral parts of the whole. This essay highlights Takatera's holistic image of accounting along with “his own time axis”.